Generally, all librarians struggle with the need to publicize their services to patrons (Slebodnik, 2006). I can most certainly attest to this, especially since most faculty, professors, and even students have a generalized misconception that librarians are only confined to the "library" or "reference desk". Overall, I have been able to reinforce my marketing or outreach skills to science faculty and students by hosting information literacy sessions/trainings on how to access databases, research articles, and books in the sciences. Also, during National Library Week, I contact the biology department and other respective areas in order to remind faculty to tell their students to take part in library-related festivities, such as participating in our poetry reading contest or library scavenger hunt activity (for example, with this activity, students are asked to answer questions concerning the history of Alabama State University, regarding past presidents or the Civil Rights Movement; those students who submit the greatest number of correct answers usually win candy as their prize). Also, during this week held event, students are granted amnesty (zero charges or fines) for overdo books. To see a full view of last year's National Library Week activities, click here: http://www.lib.alasu.edu/front_ads/Approved%20NLW%20Flyer.pdf. All of these marketing activities have been very successful and have attracted more students, faculty, and the general public to our library, especially with our library being a newly renovated building!
Additionally, with the popularity of the Internet for class assignments and research projects, I have created subject libguides for general biology, anatomy, and physiology; I plan on creating subject guides for microbiology, chemistry, physical science, or additional sciences as I conduct more information literacy sessions for these faculty and their students. Subject guides are extremely helpful informational tools for students or faculty because they permit easier access and navigation to library resources, which are sometimes difficult to find on the usual library web-page; I have discovered that no matter how many times I demonstrate to students on how to find/access our science databases, some will still have minor problems doing this. You may access my course guide here: alasu.libguides.com; next, under the 'Sciences'category, select 'Biology.' Please feel free and do not hesitate to offer your suggestions or comments on how I can improve my guide! Although my marketing or outreach skills have greatly improved, l feel that I need additional ideas on how to effectively do so. Thus, the listed resources will provide me with further insights on how to increase my marketing skills as a science librarian.
Resources
American Library Association. (2011). Getting Started: Case Histories. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advleg/publicawareness/campaign@yourlibrary/prtools/academicresearch/successfulacademic.cfm
Describes the successful marketing strategies of six academic or research libraries (ALA, 2011).
Carr, K. (2011, September 19). University of Washington Libraries: Biology. [web log post]. Retrieved from http://guides.lib.washington.edu/biology
Biology subject guide that provides direct or easier access to research articles, databases, or books in the biological sciences (Carr, 2011). Contains databases such as Science Direct, Springer Link, JSTOR, IPN: International Plants; also lists other electronic resources on plants and animals including Plant Information online, Beacham's guide to endangered species in North America, Westcott's Plant Disease Handbook, and North American Mammals for students and faculty (Carr, 2011).
Cruickshank, J. (2004). Getting the word out: Innovative and effective marketing of library services to your scientific and technical patrons. Retrieved from http://units.sla.org/division/dst/2002papers.html
Provides three contributed papers on how libraries can market themselves for the scientific community (Cruickshank, 2004). As stated by Cruickshank (2004), it is extremely vital for librarians to know their patrons' informational needs and to form personal relationships with patrons and especially, faculty/staff as major stakeholders.
Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries. (2011). Library liaison program. Retrieved from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/biomed/services/liaison.html#about
Lists all the available liaison librarians for each biomedical department for contact purposes; also provides the overall job responsibilities and objectives of each library liaison program (Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries, 2011).
Redalje, S. (2011, October 24). University of Washington Libraries: Chemistry. [web log post]. Retrieved from http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?pid=67088
Provides students and faculty with direct or easier access to chemistry research articles, E-journals,primary reference sources, books, and additional chemical information resources (Redalje, 2011). Initially, I was unaware of the plethora of information reference tools for students and faculty such as: The ChemCollective, Chemistry Virtual Textbook, Chemistry Learning Tools, The Delights of Chemistry, Organic Chemistry Help, Organometallic HyperTextBook, Virtual Chemistry, Web Elements and others, which I can now list on my subject guide (Redalje, 2011).
University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2006).Chemistry brochure for faculty. Retrieved from http://chemistry.library.wisc.edu/about/brochures/faculty.doc
A comprehensive brochure for faculty, which states information concerning: the available collections, hours of operation, library staff, reference service, current awareness profiles, library instruction, how to access electronic resources (databases), inter-library loan policies, RefWorks, and additional science library contacts (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006).
University of Wisconsin-Madison.(2006). Chemistry brochure for graduates. Retrieved from http://chemistry.library.wisc.edu/about/brochures/grads.doc. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Chemistry brochures for undergraduates. Retrieved from http://chemistry.library.wisc.edu/about/brochures/undergrads.doc
A very comprehensive brochure for chemistry graduate students, containing the exact same previously described information concerning the library's collections, hours of operation, staff, inter-library-loan procedures, Ref-works,and etc. (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006).
Yorks, P. (2011, June 21). University of Washington Libraries: Physics and astronomy. [web log post]. Retrieved from http://guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?pid=56705
This subject guide provides direct or easier access to physics and astronomy resources including articles databases, books, and e-journals for faculty and students (Yorks, 2011).
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